Invest in comfort and style with an eye on practicality
Be expansive when planning a kitchen says high-end innovator Mick De Giulio of de Giulio Kitchen Design in Chicago in the March 2010 issue of Bon Appetit magazine.
Start designing a new kitchen as the budget is unlimited. Visit a variety of kitchen stores and take notes and photos of your favorite layouts, features and cabinets. De Giulio says most people don't dream big enough when planning a kitchen renovation. Start by listing everything you'd like to include. Red Oak Renovations may have a less-pricey way to achieve a similar result.
In Reliable Bob's kitchen, the sturdy and reasonably-priced painted green pine cabinets are very similar to a high-end painted green pine cabinet at an exclusive kitchen shop. "The two cabinets have the same look and are both durable. The main difference is the location of the hinges, not the quality of the craftsmanship. Our cabinets cost one-fourth of the designer cabinets, and you can't tell the difference," said Reliable Bob.
Appliances and plumbing fixtures can be a place to splurge or hold back. The refrigerator is an key appliance worth spending extra on because it is opened 35-plus times a day, according to De Giulio. Durable cabinets are an excellent investment so the kitchen will last 20 years or more.
Use lighting, window treatment, upholstery, fancy wall painting and a few glass cabinet doors to upgrade the feel of the design for a low investment, according to De Giulio. Paying extra attention to these details will create an upscale feeling to the room.
Keep in mind the layout of the work triangle, the distance between the stove, sink and refrigerator. Keep that triangle close together and avoid putting the fridge in a main walkway in the house. Even in a big kitchen, the work triangle can be compact with extra space on the fringes available for extra hands on deck when entertaining.
Another secret to make a kitchen appear timeless is to juxtapose something old against something new. For example, an old chandelier would make a statement in an ultra-modern kitchen, De Giulio said. Reliable Bob installed a 250-pound vintage cast iron sink next to a top-of-the-line Fisher and Paykel cook top and oven. "We chose to splurge on the range and complimented it with an average-priced refrigerator and dishwasher. The vintage sink is one of the main design features of the kitchen and it cost about half of a new sink," said Bob.
Start by thinking big. Put every feature you can imagine on a dream sheet, then work backwards. Priorities will quickly surface. There are hundreds of decisions involved in a kitchen design. Reliable Bob will guide you through the maze and to design and build a kitchen that exceeds your expectations but not your budget.
The article provides information on which to decide how much to spend on what kind of renovation projects. If you're in the planning stages of a home remodeling project, read this article.
Be expansive when planning a kitchen says high-end innovator Mick De Giulio of de Giulio Kitchen Design in Chicago in the March 2010 issue of Bon Appetit magazine.
Start designing a new kitchen as the budget is unlimited. Visit a variety of kitchen stores and take notes and photos of your favorite layouts, features and cabinets. De Giulio says most people don't dream big enough when planning a kitchen renovation. Start by listing everything you'd like to include. Red Oak Renovations may have a less-pricey way to achieve a similar result.
In Reliable Bob's kitchen, the sturdy and reasonably-priced painted green pine cabinets are very similar to a high-end painted green pine cabinet at an exclusive kitchen shop. "The two cabinets have the same look and are both durable. The main difference is the location of the hinges, not the quality of the craftsmanship. Our cabinets cost one-fourth of the designer cabinets, and you can't tell the difference," said Reliable Bob.
Appliances and plumbing fixtures can be a place to splurge or hold back. The refrigerator is an key appliance worth spending extra on because it is opened 35-plus times a day, according to De Giulio. Durable cabinets are an excellent investment so the kitchen will last 20 years or more.
Use lighting, window treatment, upholstery, fancy wall painting and a few glass cabinet doors to upgrade the feel of the design for a low investment, according to De Giulio. Paying extra attention to these details will create an upscale feeling to the room.
Keep in mind the layout of the work triangle, the distance between the stove, sink and refrigerator. Keep that triangle close together and avoid putting the fridge in a main walkway in the house. Even in a big kitchen, the work triangle can be compact with extra space on the fringes available for extra hands on deck when entertaining.
Another secret to make a kitchen appear timeless is to juxtapose something old against something new. For example, an old chandelier would make a statement in an ultra-modern kitchen, De Giulio said. Reliable Bob installed a 250-pound vintage cast iron sink next to a top-of-the-line Fisher and Paykel cook top and oven. "We chose to splurge on the range and complimented it with an average-priced refrigerator and dishwasher. The vintage sink is one of the main design features of the kitchen and it cost about half of a new sink," said Bob.
Start by thinking big. Put every feature you can imagine on a dream sheet, then work backwards. Priorities will quickly surface. There are hundreds of decisions involved in a kitchen design. Reliable Bob will guide you through the maze and to design and build a kitchen that exceeds your expectations but not your budget.
